Your Lock
by ladyasile
Summary: Reuniting after two years, was supposed to be a great event. Realizing he still felt a certain way about his friend, though, wasn't suppose to happen.


**Your Lock**

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A/N: Special thanks to my beta, Brokenshardsofmyheart99, who would've checked this if there had been time. I'll be honest with you all. Usually I write after clearing away any emotions I might be feeling ,since I don't want them to ruin my stories. However, I didn't this time. I really needed an outlet. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH, but I hope I at least own this plot.

Warnings: BL, possibly some OOC, AU, and BAD writing.

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Dressing up for a formal event had never taken him as long as it did now. At first, he had to decide on what to wear. There were several articles of clothing, but none that he had wanted to wear that night. That had led to what shoes he was planning to wear. Earlier on, he had learned to wear something comfortable, not modish, if he was going to stand for a long amount of time. Recalling that, he chose the shoes first, which still had left him with his outfit.

Looking around at the mess, he sighed and began to toss things back to where they belonged in haste. It had taken him almost three hours, but he had decided on what to wear, which didn't appear to match with the color of his shoes, but he was willing to risk it. All he had left to do now was brush his hair and collect what he was going to take with him to the school.

For two months now, his younger brother had announced (and kept announcing until today) that his school was going to have an event for the Art department. It hadn't caught his attention much, but going elsewhere other than what he had been used to now was a rare opportunity. That had been the reason he had purchased himself a ticket to the event.

However, not wanting to be by himself, he had told his close friend about it too. As he had expected, Keiko had agreed to go with him. Although arranging to meet there had been somewhat of a hassle. And now that time was against him, it was becoming less and less possible that he would be able to meet her there on time.

While brushing his hair, he tried gathering the tickets, his mobile, his wallet, and the keys to his car. Some of the them dropped to the floor, which didn't work out too well with trying to brush the rest of his hair. "Fortunately I don't need to wash my hair," he muttered, brushing faster. "If only I had remembered to pick something to wear yesterday, like always."

Finishing up, he placed the brush down and ran to the front door, with his keys and tickets in hand. After opening the door and getting inside the freezing car, he brought his hands together and rubbed them, trying to get them warm. Not satisfied with the results, he took out his mobile and pressed a couple of buttons. The phone on the other side began to ring.

"Hello? Kurama, is that you?" Keiko's voice was loud, almost as if she was in a crowded area and had to talk louder.

Moving the mobile away from him by a couple of inches, he answered, "Yes, Keiko, it's me. Are you there yet?" Perhaps it had been caused by her loud voice, but right after he had answered, he noticed his own voice doing the same.

"Almost. I had to stop by the store to pick up a few things, but I will be there in about fifteen minutes or so." Either her answer or the cold made him shiver. If it hadn't been for self-discipline, his teeth would have begun to chatter minutes ago.

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Would you like me to wait for you outside?" It was an authentic offer, but part of him was hoping she wouldn't say yes to it.

Several seconds went by with no answer. When he at last heard her voice again, it was softer. "No, it's cold outside. Wait for me inside the school. I still can't believe we're going back to our old school. It's been a long time. Listen, I'll call you when I get there so you can meet me by the door. Bye."

Hanging up, he tossed the mobile into his pocket and buckled up. Before starting up the car, he brought his hands together and breathed on them, still trying to warm them up. Once again, it had not worked.

The night and season air was rather tranquil than what he was used to. It was almost as if it was making sure his hair wouldn't get untidy. If it indeed was, he thanked it. Inside the building were teachers, most of which he was not ready to face. It was not because he was a bad student, it was the opposite. When he had graduated, he had been the best.

Exhaling a breath, he made sure his car door was locked and headed toward the school. The walk was short due to a good parking spot. Most of the parking spaces were already filled up, but he had managed to get one that wouldn't be too far away from the school doors. Outside, the school had reminded him of when he used to walk around it with his friends, long after everyone else had left.

Inside, he felt the warm air hit him as fast as the speed of a bullet being fired. Something about it reminded him of how lobsters were cooked in the humane way. Looking around, he saw no one he knew at first. There were a couple of teachers and guests walking around, but none that he knew or wished to talk to.

Just before entering, he had thought of waiting outside for Keiko, despite the cold. Now he was inside and warm, but with no one. Shrugging, he walked into the room where everyone seemed to have gathered. Makeshift tables were placed in long rows, all together, leaving space at the sides and in between for people to walk through. Most of the tables already had occupants, eating the food the students had made for the event.

At the thought of his younger brother cooking, he chuckled. The boy could not make a proper meal if he was paid and had all the help in the world. "Probably decorated the room," he said. With his eyes still on the room, he caught site of a long row of tables with art crafts and paintings on them. They each had a number next to it and a clipboard in front. "The bidding," he said, remembering what his brother had said.

Having no where else to go to for the moment, he headed towards the row. As he was walking, he caught sight of his younger brother. Unlike him, he was wearing a loose t-shirt which was covered with paint. All of the paint might have made someone else uncomfortable, but his brother didn't seem to mind. In front of him was a table with various paints and wooden decorations. The sign in the front made it clear that he was selling holiday ornaments.

Wanting to check on his younger brother, he headed toward him. The sight of another teen next to him, however, stopped him. It was clear that the blush his brother had was not caused by the heat or exhaustion. By the way he kept smiling and looking at the teen, Kurama knew better than to interfere.

Before he could do anything else, his mobile began to ring. "Keiko?" he answered after getting his phone out.

"Yes. I'm late, but I'm here. Where are you?" she asked, voice sounding out of breath.

Almost laughing at the fact that Keiko had ran there, he answered, "Just keep walking straight. Everyone is in here, you won't miss it. I'll meet you by the entrance." With that being said, he hung up and hurried off to the doors.

"Kurama!" she shouted as soon as she saw him.

They embraced one another. "You look great, Keiko," he said, meaning every single word. It had been a while since both of them had been together. She smiled and returned his compliment as well. "Where to now?"

Rather than hearing Keiko's voice speak, he heard someone else's. "Brother! I've been looking for you" His brother walked up to him, paint all over his clothes. Most of him doubted that his younger brother had been looking for him, but he didn't say anything about it. "Touya was looking for you. He went to sit down at one of the tables, so you might find him there. Oh, but he's not alone." Not waiting to hear any questions, his brother left, back to his station.

"Well, he's in a great mood," Keiko said, looking past him. "Oh, he said Touya was here? That's right, he told me he was coming. Do you want to go find him first or do you want to go get the food first?"

Stroking his hair, he thought about it. "Perhaps we shouldn't disturb Touya. You heard my brother, he's with someone. Let's go get some food. After all, we did pay for it by purchasing these tickets."

"Your brother also said that he was looking for you. Let's go find him. Besides, I doubt Touya would bring anyone he was dating here," said Keiko as she pulled him toward the crowd.

What she had said made him wonder why she had said that. 'Could she really know that? Unless it's a friend of his. Not just any friend, though,' he thought as they moved through the crowd. As they walked, he kept moving out of sight from any teachers that might know him while keeping an eye out for Touya.

Several minutes of walking had long passed. He was beginning to wonder if Touya had left already. Almost a second before he was going to voice out his thought, he spotted Touya. "Keiko, he's over there." Keiko turned to where he had directed and both walked there.

As usual, Touya looked as if the heat bothered him. The top buttons to his top had been unbuttoned. The person next to him, however, caught his attention far more than Touya did. The young man was wearing a formal suit, but no tie or bow attached to it. He had a very bored look on his face, but the brusqueness of it hadn't been affected one bit by it.

"Touya and Hiei, how are you two?" he asked, hoping no one had noticed the brief spell he had before saying the second name. It had happened just once, but now once more he felt his fingers tremble at the sight of Hiei.

As expected, Touya spoke first. "The same as always. It's a pleasure to see you both. I was about to get my food right now, but Hiei didn't want to go just now."

Before Touya could go further, Hiei scoffed. "It's food that could possibly be tainted. Besides, it was enough you wanted to come and drag me with you." The foul mood had the opposite effect on Kurama than it did on others. It made him smile.

"Why don't you go with Keiko, Touya? I'll try to convince Hiei to get his in the meanwhile," Kurama suggested, knowing Touya would accept. Although, if he had to be honest with himself, he hadn't expected to voice out the suggestion.

Keiko nodded. "Sounds great. Let's go, Touya." Touya stood up and went with her.

Waiting until he could no longer see them, Kurama took a seat next to Hiei. It took him a moment to be able to speak. Seeing Hiei raise an eyebrow at him, he asked, "Yes?"

"Weren't you going to convince me?" he asked, his tone warning Kurama against it.

Gulping, Kurama nodded. "You did pay for it. At least, I'm assuming, unless Touya paid for your ticket," he said. When Hiei nodded, he sighed. It had not been a significant sigh, but it did help him relax his heartbeat, which was threatening to speed up even more. "How have you been?" he asked, switching his tactic.

The question seemed to surprise Hiei, for his eyes widened at it. For a moment he hesitated, but in the end he began to speak as if they were good friends. It was true, though, they were. They had just lost contact. "I've got a job. Not planning to study any further, so the money's going to what I need at the moment. You?" he asked, eyes almost glaring.

"Not much," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I've got a job as well." Seeing the glare vanish, he smiled. "However, I doubt it's as exciting as yours. All I do is stay inside a small office all day, organizing files and shredding paper."

Hiei smirked. "You're right, Kurama." Although his response didn't give much away, Kurama continued to smile. "I think I need to tell you something, before we keep talking like everything in the world is great." The serious tone made his smile fade a little. "Touya knows this already. I'm gay," he said, glaring.

Although he had wanted to be respectful, he couldn't help but grin. "Finally?" he asked his friend, who nodded once. "Good for you, Hiei. You already know about me, don't you?

"No, this is the first time I've heard it. What happened to all those girls that kept chasing after you?"

Giggling, Kurama answered, "They grew up and went off with someone who was interested in women. Honestly, did you think I'd marry one of them? Well, Hiei, congratulations on coming out."

"Hn. I knew you'd say something stupid," his friend said, trying not smile at him, but failing.

They continued to talk for the rest of evening. Nothing they said had been news that they hadn't suspected or knew about already. When at last Keiko and Touya came back, Kurama realized that he had never convinced Hiei.

"Well, it's too late for food now," Keiko pointed out. The staff and students had begun clearing the tables, leaving nothing untouched. "Did you guys even look at the art? Touya and I went over to paint our own decorations, which is why we didn't come back sooner." She held up a painted Christmas tree.

Touya nodded and showed off his decoration as well. "Seeing that you two are still alive and well, I know I didn't make a mistake in leaving you alone, Hiei."

"Everyone's leaving. I suppose we should too," Kurama said to them. Keiko and Touya went ahead of them. Or rather, Keiko dragged Touya to discuss something about their school. It made Kurama wonder even more if his friend knew something that he hadn't told her.

To his left, Hiei walked. There was a smirk on his face as they passed a glass case with trophies inside them. "Your awards, Kurama," he said, pointing to the ones on top. "Looks like those girls aren't the only ones who have shrines dedicated to you."

"Don't remind me. Oh, before I forget…" Taking a deep breath he continued. "Do you think I could have your phone number? It was a pleasure to see you again and I'd like to keep in touch."

Stopping in his steps, Hiei took out his mobile. "Your number?" he asked. Kurama gave him the number, which Hiei then called. "We should see each other again, you know. Seeing only Touya and his boyfriend all the time is exhausting."

"Touya's gay?" he asked before getting hit in the head by Hiei.

Two days had gone by and he still had not called Hiei. It was the same the other way around. The phone rested on the bed, next to his pillow. It was on. 'I could call him,' he thought. Turning to check on the time, he groaned. It was around the time when no one was awake, except for the nocturnal beings. Biting his lip, he reached for the phone. After breathing in and out for a few times, he looked for Hiei's number and pressed the call button.

It rang.

"What?" answered the crotchety voice that belonged to Hiei.

Trying not to hang up, Kurama responded. "Hiei? Did I wake you?" His heart began to race again.

"No."

Rolling his eyes, Kurama pressed on with the conversation. "Oh, well, I just wanted to check up on you," he said, face getting warmer.

"What am I, your garden?" There was a brief pause in which Kurama did not know what to do. "Did you… Did you just want to talk?" Hiei asked.

At first, Kurama was ready to nod, until he realized they weren't face-to-face. "Yes. Unless your busy. If you are, I'll call you back later," he answered.

"I'm not. What did you want to talk about?"

He had to smile at the bluntness his friend had. "Well, we got into a deep conversation two days ago. And in all that time I never got to ask you about your love life. Care to share? Or should I move on to another topic?"

If Hiei had picked up on what he was trying to say, he didn't acknowledge it. "No one in my love life, as you called it. There hasn't been anyone in my life since Mukuro," he answered.

Mukuro. The name brought back memories. The strongest was of the first time he saw them kissing. "I see. So you don't have anyone special at the moment?" For the second time, he wished Hiei and he were closer. The thought of having Hiei's love to himself made him shiver. It was the single thing he kept wishing for every day, even when they had graduated and spent two years without contact.

"No one. Just two guys I'm seeing, but they don't count," he replied.

"Why not?" he asked, hoping his voice had not trembled.

"I'm not looking to be with anyone. And I can't think of anyone that won't bother me in some way."

There was a long spell of silence. Clutching the phone closer to him, Kurama asked one more question. "No one at all?" The scoff he heard answered his question. "Hiei, I need to go. I'll call you later," he lied, hanging up at once.

The cars driving down the road outside his home drowned out his true response to Hiei's scoff.

End.


End file.
